82 Mercedes 300D Turbo may need new turbo

[300DT]

My local mechanic (who has done some very trustworthy work on my 300D Turbo) tells me that he has verified the turbo seals are leaking. This causes oil to make it's way to the engine and combust making for dark brown smoke when the turbo engages. Also, he says the oil leaking in the turbo causes the turbo to not engage fast enough which causes the transmission to shift faster than normal. I've seen that when the car is accelerating from a idle position it seems to kind up make a bump sound.

The tranny works fine and I had it serviced when I first bought this car in the fall of 2005. The engine has also seems to be fine (had lots of leaks which have now been fixed). I'm inclinded to believe there's something here with the turbo. However, my question is this: do I have to replace the whole turbo? Isn't there a seal ring or some way to simply fix the leak? My mechanic adjusted the fuel injection and tranny so that the effects of the turbo are MUCH less noticeable. Nevertheless, the turbo is still be leaks and if this is the case I'd rather fix it now than wait for it to give out all together. It has 205,000 miles and I expect to reach 500,000 with this car so I must take good care of it and fix problems when then arise (as long as I can verify the repair is needed).

Any thoughts or recommendations would be very welcome. You guys were tons of help when a supposed "mercedes" repair shop wanted to replace my tranny for $3,000 because of a slow initial pickup. My local mechanic (who specializes on Mercedes) found the problem to be the accelerator pedal (a costly but far cheaper fix) and that resolved the slow pickup of the car especially when combined with tweaking the tranny and fuel injection.

300DT

[t walgamuth]

can be rebuilt. a kit is available for not too much money. two o rings and a bushing as i remember. you will also need mounting gaskets. it is not a horrible job but not for a beginner either. refitting the turbo drain tube is the trickiest part. it is really hard to get it not to leak.

tom w